Such Personality and Sense of Humor

Lanie is developing such a great personality and sense of humor!  It is so much fun to see what she thinks of next.  Last night we were sitting in the living room and she picked up a knit hat that was just the ugliest think I have ever seen in my life and she started playing with it.  Covering her head and face and poking her nose through one of the stitches and was laughing and giggling so hard she couldn't even talk.  She would then place it on her head and grab her purse and say she was going to Shop N Save, Schnucks, Fam Doll or K-Mart.  She was so funny.  I know, you had to be there to see the humor! 

Thanksgiving is over and I am very greatful.  It was not the fun time that  was hoping for...but what is a holiday without a bit of drama.  I am just really getting tired of it.  I won't go into the details but I am not looking forward to Christmas.

I was glad to get back to work.  I have so many files on my desk I don't think I will ever get through them all.  I am not scheduleing a whole lot of clients this week so that I can get through the ones I have going.  I need to do some denials and then hopefully get some answers to my letters!  I just keep plowing through!

In the meantime I love coming home to my little Lanie Lou.  She is always the bright spot in my day.

Update on being a better mom

After my last post I have truly tried to be a better mom to Lanie.  I have been working on being more fun and not yelling so much, and I think I am doing ok.  I still sit in the chair a lot in the evenings but at least I am playing with her now, reading a book to her or watching Dora with her.  She is really getting into Dora much to my distaste!  But I do it with a semi-smile on my face.

I took the best picture this Saturday while we were at the park...

isn't that great?!  She looks like she is just really gonna fly down that slide!

This is Lanie in her favorite Cardinals shirt.  She wears this one especially for Papa.

Yes, she puts her feet on the counter top! See I am a bad mother!

I made her into a kitty Saturday morning before I had to go to work.  She loved it.

We are starting to get ready for Thanksgiving.  I cleaned both bathrooms this weekend.  I washed, dried, folded, hung up and put away all the laundry.  Lanie, Grandma and I put up Christmas lights.  Let me tell you how fun that was!  While I was on the step stool, Lanie climbed up to where I was, with her face in my but and grabbed my pant legs to hold on.  I had to rescue the pants more than once!  It was fun though, Most of the time.  She is very excited about the Christmas lights and Santa bringing her toys. We are going to go to the mall the day after Thanksgiving and see Santa Claus. 

"Mentors of Miracles"

I just read a blog that really made me stop and look at what I am doing and how I am raising Lanie.  The woman writing the blog talked about how MOM's are Mentors of Miracles and how each mom has been given the privelege of teaching her child (her miracle from God) about Him. I know that I do not do as much as I could to teach Lanie about God.  We do say our prayers and I try to take the teaching moments whether they be at home or in the car or wherever, whenever anything comes up that lets me slip it in.  I try to be mindful of those moments because those can be some of the most special moments.

I am going to take that a bit farther now and think about how God would want me to raise Lanie.  There are so many times that I have been short with her, that I have yelled at her because she had done something that I did not want her to do.  I cannot count the times that I have swatted her butt because she got into something that she was told not to get into, or poured something on the floor that she was not supposed to do.  I have to realize that she is only 2 1/2 years old.  She has so much exploring to do, so much to learn, so much to see and do! 

I think about her in the pre-mortal existence, up there just waiting to come down here.  Did she know that she would have so little time with her momma and that she would come to be with me and Grandma and Papa?  I can imagine her waiting up there, eager to experience all that she had seen from afar.  Anticipating all the fun she would have on earth.  I wonder if she knew that she would have a cranky old woman raising her!  Sometimes that's how I feel, a cranky old woman and that Lanie deserves someone much more fun!  And how does God feel about the way I am raising her?  Am I being the role model I need to be?  Am I teaching her what she needs to know?  Am I doing a good job?

Lanie is my miracle and I really want to do all I can to raise her to be the amazing woman God has intended her to be. She survived that accident because she is special and she is meant to do something special with her life. I want to be part of that!  I want her to look back on her childhood and have happy memories of me not memories of me yelling at her. 

I am going to try to cut down on the yelling, try to be less of my mom I guess.  I just don't want to be yelling all the time. Now I am not saying that it will be all rainbows and unicorns but I am going to work on it!

Houdini or Cirque de Sole?

This child is either Houdini or a performer in Cirque de Sole.  She climbs on top of the fridge, she gets through locked doors into Grandma's room and she can find stuff to get into no matter how well I hide them!  I just don't get it.  Someday she will tell me her secrets! I watched her climb the refridgerator!  She empties her toy box, drags it into the kitchen, turns it over, climbs on it, grabs hold of the handles and pulls herself up putting her little feet flat on the front of the fridge and walks herself up.  This girl is a definite problem solver.

She is starting to get into Christmas now.  She knows that Santa Claus brings toys and she says they are just for her, Levi and Mason.  I guess no one else gets toys this year.  She is also learning Santa Claus is coming to town (to bring Lanie toys).  She adds on that last little bit each time! 

I dread decorating for Christmas.  She is going to be into all of it! Nothing will be safe. 

Halloween fun

I go to Halloween!

Little Miss Lanie had so much fun last night with Papa and Grandma going Trick or Treating.  I told her to bring home some Laffy Taffy or Smarties for me and she did!  She even remembered.  She came in the house saying..."Taffy, taffy for you!" That's my girl! She eats the suckers, Grandma eats the chocolate, Papa gets the Bottle Caps and I get the Laffy Taffy and Smarties.  What a family!

So now that Halloween is over I get to start teaching her Christmas songs.  I know, I know!  There is Thanksgiving in there but I don't have any Thanksgiving songs to teach her, plus, it will take 2 months to get a Christmas song down! And this year I am going to take her to the mall to see Santa!  Her first Christmas we had Santa come to the house and last year we didn't take her to see him because we figured she would just cry.  OK, it was really because I was too lazy to brave the crowds at the mall!  But this year I am taking her! 

Ok, so I have added a couple of blogs to my reading list that I love to follow, Josh Weed and It just gets stranger.  These are incredible blogs and I really suggest that you read these. It just gets stranger is one of the funniest blogs I have ever read!  Have fun!